In today's manufacturing industry, the customary manner of assembling products is with an assembly line in a serial process system. A serial process system is defined as having the complex product travel through successive, single operations or stations in order to complete the assembly of the complex product. Serial process systems are even more common when such products are complex in nature, thereby requiring the assembly of a variety of different subcomponents and various individual components in various locations on the product.
Typically, the serial process of an assembly line begins with the delivery of a complex product to the assembly line, wherein the complex product is then loaded into an assembly line transport system, either automatically or manually. The transport system carries the complex product to a variety of workstations along the assembly line, wherein the various components and subcomponents are assembled into the complex product. For example, in a serial processed engine cylinder head assembly line, spark plugs may be installed into the cylinder head at the first workstation, and after the spark plugs are installed, the transport system may carry the cylinder head to a second workstation, wherein the cylinder head may be rotated so that additional componentry may be assembled on the underside or opposite side of the cylinder head. Cylinder head valves may be installed into the cylinder head at a subsequent workstation, and upon traveling to the next workstation, the cylinder head may be rotated back to its original position. The following workstation may then be responsible for installing valve springs into the cylinder head. The transport system continues to carry the cylinder head from workstation to workstation until the cylinder head is completely assembled. The number of workstations on the assembly line may vary depending on the type of cylinder head or componentry. Typically, the number of workstations range in the neighborhood of six to eight with the transport system passing through or adjacent to each of the workstations.
The timing of the workstations and the transport system is critical for such assembly lines. In the above-noted example, the complex product moves from one workstation to the next, wherein the transport system may stop to allow for an operation to be performed at each of the workstations. A certain amount of time may even be designated for completing a specific task at a specific workstation.
Although assembly lines have been utilized throughout the history of the manufacturing industry, such assembly lines are plagued with inefficiencies. For instance, assembly lines within the automotive industry are typically dedicated to a particular component of an automobile and for a specific model of an automobile. Thus, such assembly lines cannot be utilized to manufacture any component of an automobile, but rather, they can be only utilized to build certain specific components. Therefore, if the particular component is no longer needed, for instance, if the particular model of automobile in which the component is utilized is no longer being manufactured, then the particular assembly line cannot be utilized without major retooling. Therefore, the assembly line must be retooled or disassembled, and a new assembly line must be installed. This is, of course, a very timely and costly task and one that is undesirable in an industrial environment.
As previously mentioned, such assembly lines are typically timed to provide each laborer at a particular workstation a specific amount of time under which to complete the operation at that particular workstation. If a problem occurs at that particular workstation such that the task can no longer be performed, for instance, a tool breaks, the transport system shuts down, certain components are defective, etc., then the entire assembly line may have to be shut down until the problem is corrected. When this occurs, manufacturing of the particular product is halted, thereby causing a shortage of the product being manufactured or assembled on that particular assembly line. Such a shortage of products could create shortages in other assembly lines thereby requiring other assembly lines to shut down. Thus, manufacturing facilities often produce a surplus of components so that a sufficient supply of components is provided should the assembly line break down or stop. Such uncertainty in the operation of the assembly line may lead to a shortage or a surplus of components. A shortage of components may lead to other assembly lines being short of parts, and a surplus of components may mean that unnecessary parts have been produced, thereby wasting time and money. Either situation creates an inefficiency that is undesirable in an industrial environment.
Lastly, assembly lines often span across a rather large area of the manufacturing facility in order to provide a sufficient amount of space for the transport system, the work stations, and the laborers. The floor space in a manufacturing facility can be rather expensive, and therefore, it is always desirable to reduce the amount of floor space to produce a particular product.
It would be desirable to produce a method and apparatus for assembling a complex product that could produce a variety of different products, that could produce a specific number of components when needed, and that would require a minimum amount of factory floor space.